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Waycross man gets 17 years, 6 months in prison for having pistol

Dereck Jerome Brown, an armed career criminal and felon, is forbidden from possessing a weapon

A Waycross man will spend 17 years and six months in prison after his conviction on a firearms charge, the U.S. Attorney said.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced Dereck Jerome Brown, 33, last week after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Officers executed a search warrant at his house in October 2012 and found a 9 mm pistol, crack cocaine, marijuana and a large amount of cash, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a release.

Because of four previous felony convictions for cocaine trafficking and obstructing an officer, Brown was qualified an armed career criminal and prohibited from possessing weapons.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office must and will continue to aggressively prosecute those who endanger the safety of our communities,’’ said Edward J. Tarver, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

The case resulted from a join investigation by the Bureau of ATF and the Waycross police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer G. Solari.